A spirited Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he is confident he can gain bipartisan support to win the Governor’s race as he rallied his supporters to vote out “performative politicians in Tallahassee.”

“This is not a right or left moment, but a right or wrong moment in our history. The power of the people is greater than the people in power,” Demings said at his rally Thursday in Orlando’s tourism corridor to officially launch his bid. “We’re tired of toxic and divisive politics. If you vote for me, it’s a vote for a new style of leadership. It’s a vote for change. It’s a vote for democracy.”

Then Demings, a former sheriff, countered, “It’s time for a new sheriff in town.”

Demings will face former Rep. David Jolly in a Democratic Primary. For Republicans, Rep. Byron Donalds and former House Speaker Paul Renner are running for Governor.

Demings has become a Republican target in recent months, before the Orlando Democrat officially announced his bid.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened to suspend Demings and the Orange County Commission from office if they did not approve an immigration contract with the federal government. And Republicans are attacking Orange County over the local Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) audits.

“This week, the Chief Financial Officer of Florida and a few of his Republican friends called me woke. I don’t know what they mean by woke,” Demings countered Thursday. “But after 4½ decades of public service — they woke me up.”

Demings’ rally gave glimpses into upcoming campaign attacks.

“He is an authentic person. He doesn’t change his party,” his wife, former U.S. Rep. Val Demings, said, taking a swipe at Jolly, who switched from Republican to Democrat. 

Demings told reporters that Donalds — who many view as the front-runner with President Donald Trump’s endorsement — lacks the experience to run the state.

“He has never worked at this granular level, from being a beat cop to where I’m sitting today, wrestling with the issues that average Floridians have to deal with. He’s not done that. He’s in Washington, D.C.,” Demings told reporters after his rally. “I’ve had to lead through all those circumstances, from terror attacks to mass shooting situations to dealing with hurricanes, to leading during a global pandemic. I’ve been on the ground. There’s no substitute for experience. That’s a big difference between he and I.”

Vowing to bring a new style of leadership of optimism and compassion, Demings is seeking to be Florida’s first Black Governor — the pinnacle in what’s already been a trailblazing career in Central Florida.

Demings, a cop who would go on to become Orlando’s first Black police chief and first Black Sheriff, was elected as the first Black Orange Mayor in 2018.

At his rally, Demings spoke of increasing state employee pay, providing better support for the homeless and people who have a mental illness, as well as restoring power to local governments to stop the state from preempting their authority. He is also focusing on affordability issues, as many Floridians struggle with rising insurance and grocery costs.

Cheering him on Thursday were many Central Florida elected officials, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis.

Conservatives are already attacking the latest arrival to the Governor’s race with Donalds’ campaign saying, “ Jerry Demings is weak. He’s woke. And he’s wrong for Florida. 

The Washington, D.C.-based Republican Governors Association said in a statement, “Demings may have served in law enforcement at one time, but in elected office, Demings only serves himself and his liberal allies. Florida deserves better.”

Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

National Review is honoring Ron and Casey DeSantis with the William F. Buckley Jr. Prize as “conservative leaders who have shaped our nation.”

At the ceremony in Palm Beach at the Breakers, the First Couple addressed many topics, including Hope Florida.

The First Lady’s signature initiative is now the subject of a grand jury investigation after $10 million in Medicaid settlement funds to the state were diverted for political purposes rather than to provide health care to the economically marginalized.

The First Lady defended the program as a “really magical thing, which I think is a model for the nation, and it’s thriving here in the Sunshine State.” She did not mention the probe.

Gov. DeSantis, who has conceded that most Floridians disagree with him on restricting cannabis and reproductive rights, defended the use of the money as a last-ditch attempt to convince the general public not to pass measures that went against his policy preferences. He called the abortion and cannabis measures the “two most expensive initiatives in the history of the American Republic.”

“Amendment 3, which was a constitutional right to smoke weed wherever you want, and Amendment 4, which was abortion-till-birth and allowed abortions to be performed by non-physicians … if those (had) passed, that would obviously have changed the underlying dynamics in the state, and ultimately would have turned Florida purple and then blue,” DeSantis said.

“So, as Governor, I didn’t have a formal role in it. But I fought like hell to be able to do it because I’m thinking to myself, ‘what good is it to go through this, win elections, do the policy, if they can just do (George) Soros’ agenda through the back door with these initiatives?’ So we were the first state to beat a marijuana initiative, and we were the first state to beat an abortion-till-birth initiative in ’24. We beat the Left at that, very important,” he added, drawing applause.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—”Donald Trump officials accused of bullying tactics to kill a climate measure” via Lisa Friedman, Max Bearak and Jeanna Smialek of The New York Times

—”‘None of this is good for Republicans’” via Russell Berman of The Atlantic

—”Flight-cancellation plans prompt scramble across travel industry” via Allison Pohle, Victoria Albert and Lindsay Wise of The Wall Street Journal

—“Why was John Mulaney at the Supreme Court?” via Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter

—”Jurors find sandwich hurler not guilty of assault” via Zach Montague of The New York Times

—”Six election results that didn’t make the headlines” via Rebecca Crosby, Noel Sims and Judd Legum of Popular Information

—“James Uthmeier sues Planned Parenthood over chemical abortion drugs” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics

—“Haunted by Brightline” via Brittany Wallman and Susan Merriam of the Miami Herald

—”Bird-defending Audubon chapter defeats Florida development planned by nation’s largest homebuilder” via Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix

—”James Uthmeier sues Planned Parenthood over chemical abortion drugs” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics

—”Who is the ‘trad husband’?” via Anna North of Vox

Quote of the Day

“Access to healthy, fresh food is a right, not a luxury, and we should all want everyone in our state to be fed.”

— Rep. Michele Rayner, on her food insecurity legislation.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody gets a Blue Angel for appealing to the President for special consideration to fund the stunt team and aerobatic performance in Pensacola. 

Pour Gov. Ron DeSantis a Milestone in celebration of the groundbreaking on the new inflow pump station, expected to play a significant role in the EAA Reservoir project.  

Send a Desert Rain to Rep. Michele Rayner, who is championing legislation aimed at helping local governments open small-footprint grocery stores in Florida food deserts.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators look to bounce back after season-opening loss

After opening the season with a loss, the defending national champion Florida Gators play at home for the first time this season as they host North Florida tonight (8 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).

Florida, ranked third in the preseason poll, lost on Monday to No. 13 Arizona in Las Vegas in the Hall of Fame Classic. The Gators returned three starters from last year’s national championship-winning team and have added guard Boogie Fland, who starred at Arkansas last season.

The game marks the third time the Gators have hosted UNF in the home opener. Florida has won all 11 previous meetings between the two programs.

The game marks UNF’s season opener with a new head coach. Bobby Kennen makes his head coaching debut after serving as an assistant to Matthew Driscoll since 2009. Driscoll departed from UNF to join the staff at Kansas State.

Kennen is a well-respected and longtime assistant who is finally getting his shot to be the head coach. UNF will rely on Kamrin Oriol, the team’s top returning scorer, who was a reserve last season. The Ospreys also added Kent Jackson as a transfer from Jacksonville University, Dalton Gayman, a transfer from Division II Purdue Northwest, and freshman BJ Plummer from Rickards High School in Tallahassee.

After facing UNF, the Gators have matchups with two more in-state rivals, Florida State and Miami, next on the schedule.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.